Family and friends of Delores:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).
Delores knew the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd knew her. Throughout her earthly life, Jesus – the Good Shepherd – provided for Delores. Today, this same Good Shepherd continues to provide all of Delores’ needs.
In her earthly life, Delores was known for her hospitality. She was one who found enjoyment in caring for other people. With her hospitality, she was a fabulous cook and a cheerful giver. One thing she thoroughly enjoyed was socializing with people. From what I learned, she really enjoyed talking. She enjoyed talking so much that she received a nickname: Windy. She could talk with just about anyone and about anything.
Here at Prince of Peace, Delores served her Lord in various vocations, including teaching Sunday School and singing in the choir.
All throughout her life, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – certainly blessed Delores. The Lord provided her with a loving husband David; two children: Jeff and __; grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But most importantly, the Lord provided her with the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Today, Delores is resting from her labors as she has received the promise of eternal life. She no longer suffers the effects of sin. She is at peace as she has joined the Church Triumphant with all the saints in heaven!
But for us here this morning, we are experiencing a loss. With any separation, we come to a time of mourning. We mourn because death is not natural. You see, humanity was not created to die. But due to our first parents – Adam and Eve – we all die, because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). And so, we mourn. But mourning is a good and godly work. Your see, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. He wept because He loved His friend, so weeping and mourning the death of any loved one is a good work.
Christians mourn at the reality of death. Christians mourn because we were never intended to die and we should live forever. But Christians do not mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but our mourning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy, since despite the wages of sin being death, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).
Today, through her death as a believer in Christ, sin has no more power over Delores. She has a clear mind, and she has no more pain, no more hunger, no more thirst. For us, on this side of heaven, we hear about God’s encouraging Word as our Good Shepherd.
[The Lord Leads Us]
For us here this morning, we can only imagine what Delores is witnessing and receiving from her Lord. But let us not forget, our Lord is caring for us now just as He is caring for Delores in heaven. God teaches us this fact in Psalm 23.
“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3).
In the first three verses of Psalm 23, we hear how the Good Shepherd leads us. The Good Shepherd cares for all the needs of His flock. In doing so, He cares for every human need: physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Under the care of the Good Shepherd, we shall not want. Now this doesn’t mean that we will never have any desires. Certainly, we still have wants. But, in Christ, all of our needs are met. The Good Shepherd supplies the basics through His daily bread: food, drink, and protection.
Each day of our life – and in the life to come – God provides for us abundantly. He leads us to “lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2a). Now, these green pastures are His Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament. In these “green pastures,” we are fed and strengthened, preserved from error, comforted in all temptations, protected against the devil’s power, and saved from all need.
The Good Shepherd also “restores our soul” (Psalm 23:3a). Christ teaches us saying, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). We are Christ’s sheep, because He has made us His own. You see, Christ restores our soul through His bloody sacrifice and death for His sheep – you and me. Through Christ’s death, we are restored in the eyes of God the Father and all by faith in His Son.
The Good Shepherd also leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. This path of righteousness is “the right path.” You see, Jesus will never lead us to a place of slaughter. He leads us to eternal life and salvation. Along the way, He leads us along safe paths to heaven through His Word. He leads us to heaven, for the Good Shepherd is the only Way (John 14:6) to travel the righteous path.
[The Lord is Present]
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
Even in the most frightening situation in our life, the Good Shepherd is present. So, we can always be confident of God’s guiding presence. Valleys on the way to the high pastureland often have the best grass, but valleys can also be places of hidden danger for the sheep. Even so, as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” the Good Shepherd is with us. He is always present with us. The Good Shepherd never sends His sheep into places He will not go. He is always with us in our lives today and in the life to come!
[The Lord Provides Forever]
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5-6).
These verses tell how the Good Shepherd always provides for His sheep.
He prepares a table before us. This shows how the Good Shepherd is hospitable to His sheep. The Good Shepherd not only gives us our daily bread – all the needs of our body, such as food, clothing and shelter – but He gives us the gift of His very Body and very Blood in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith.
The “cup runneth over” is the grace that we have received by faith in Jesus Christ. For although we were dead in sin, Jesus took upon Himself the death we deserve upon the cross, so that we would be made righteous by grace through faith in Him. For although we sin much in thought, word and deed, God’s grace is the cup that is always runneth over. So, when we repent and confess our sins to God, our sins are wiped clean. We are forgiven.
The Good Shepherd gives all who believe in Him this goodness and mercy all their lives.
[Dwelling in the House of the Lord Forever]
For everyone who dies in Christ, they experience the ending of Psalm 23: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6b).
As soon as those who know the Good Shepherd enter heaven, they are no longer sinners, but only saints. For Delores and her fellow saints, they “hunger no more, neither thirst anymore” (Revelation 7:16a), since they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd. While in heaven, the Good Shepherd continues to provide.
Today, it is only through Christ’s work that Delores is now resting from her labors, as Jesus has accomplished salvation for her and for you and me! By grace through faith in Christ, death is but a portal, since “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).
Delores has joined the Church Triumphant in heaven as she has left the great tribulation of this life now. She is clothed in Christ’s Robe of Righteousness as she is before the throne of God where she hungers no more, neither thirst anymore as she is in the presence of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:14-17). Today, Delores and her fellow saints are free from sin and its power.
But heaven is not the end. For all the faithful, there is still something more on the horizon. “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). You see, death does not have the final say. Life has the final say. Since Christ has been raised from the dead, we too, will also be raised. So, Delores’ grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! This body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
May we follow Delores’ example of faith in the Good Shepherd and receive the free gift of His grace that is always runneth over. Amen!
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Delores Taylor's Obituary: http://jandtfredrickson.com/obituaries/index.php?id=2456
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